Can anyone recommend a good, fairly inexpensive place to have brunch in Burlington, VT. My bf and I are spending the weekend there this weekend, staying at the Wyndham, and would like to have a nice brunch on Sunday.

Not much of a brunch person, but check out the Seven Days Daisies. Locals vote on their faves...
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/daysies/fooddrink.html

Thanks, bm. That's a great idea.

Oh brunch in Burlington, sigh... There are so many great options! If you won't have a car, there are several places downtown that are in easy walking distance from the hotel. The best bet for inexpensive but absolutely great breakfast is Penny Cluse. It is super popular though so expect a lengthy wait unless you go before 10 am. They are open until 3 pm I believe.
A couple of the other restaurants in town also have a great brunch, although perhaps a bit pricier - Waiting Room (www.thewaitingroomvt.com)
Leunig's Bistro (corner of Church St. and College,802.863.3759)
NECI (top block of Church St.)
and my all-time favorite, Smokejacks (corner of Church and Main, www.smokejacks.com)

If you do have a car, Sneakers in Winooski (about a 10 minute drive from the Wyndham) is GREAT (best stuffed french toast I've ever had!) and cheap. But, they also tend to be very busy and the wait can get chilly as they don't have much indoor space.

Finally, if you are looking to travel a little further or are heading back south on I-89 anyways, you might consider stopping at the Mist Grill in Waterbury. It is about a 40 minute drive, right off the highway, and the food is fabulous, esp. the French Toast Baguette Brulee (http://www.mistgrill.com/brunch.htm)

If you want suggestions on any other meals let me know!

Goodheart,
Thank you so much for those suggestions! I had heard of all those places but I'm having such a hard time narrowing it down. I was really interested in NECI but I can't really find any info on price and types of food they serve at brunch. I'm sure it varies because it's a culinary school. Smokejacks was another front runner...Have you had brunch at Ri Ra's? We've never eaten there but have had drinks there and the food always looks so good.

We'll be staying at the Wyndham and have a car so anything is possible.

Do you live in Burlington? We're going this weekend for Mardi Gras so any suggestions on what to do Saturday night?

I just realized that my bf will probably want a brunch buffet. How is Perry's? I've read good things about it. Any idea on price? Any other suggestions for a brunch buffet?

Hi Ethel -- sorry it took me all day to respond! I don't get to browse the net much during the day.

Perry's brunch is not bad, pretty traditional spread with all the usual stuff - eggs, waffles, pancakes, breakfast meats, salad bar, lunchy items, etc. They do have a website, http://www.perrysfishhouse.com/ but I could not find a whole lot more details there. I could be totally wrong but I think the price was something like $25-30 with coffee included. I think they do take reservations there, it gets pretty crowded. I can't think of other brunch buffets though, one place you could check would be the Windjammer which is out in South Burlington at the Best Western - http://www.windjammerrestaurant.com/. They might do brunch.

I think I did eat at RiRa's for brunch once - it wasn't terribly memorable but that may be about personal taste - their food seems SO heavy for mornings to me!

NECI (and the other places I listed in my first post, Waiting Room, Leunig's and Smokejack's) are probably what you would call new American - the online menus for Smokejack's and Waiting Room are fairly similar to what you might see at the other places too. Someone I know is the head chef at Smokejack's, so I am biased - but it is my favorite Burlington restaurant by far! Although the selection is relatively limited, the food is always fabulous and it is such a cute little place. If you are looking for cool ambiance, any of these would be more unique than the other options. If you're heading to Church St. for the parade on Saturday, you'll get to walk by most of these places so you can check them out. Be sure to wear lots of layers, it gets really cold and windy watching the parade for a few hours.

As for evening fun, Church Street will definitely be packed with lots of shows and stuff. It sounds like you have been to Burlington before, but just in case - the bars on and around Main Street tend to be more undergrad hangouts for the younger crowd. Ri Ras seems to have a slightly older crowd, and at Red Square (right across the street) it depends on who is playing that night. A very mellow place is the Wine Bar on St. Paul Street. The nice thing about staying at the Wyndam is that you can walk all around and check out lots of options, and then walk right to the hotel!

Phew. That was alot of Burlington info! I did live there for years and years and just recently moved away for a job opportunity, but with a heavy heart. I figure I read this board so often and use so many helpful suggestions, why not make some when I actually know the location...

Hope this helps!

I was going to suggest Sneakers for brunch. I grew up in the Burlington area and went to college there in the 80's. I now live in southern Vermont. I can tell I am old because lots of the places mentioned, I don't even recognize. (Sigh)

Thanks goodheart, for yet again, great suggestions. I live in Lake Placid so I've been to Burlington many times but it just seems like there is never enough time to do what I want to do. We went last year for Mardi Gras and had drank a little too much during the day to really enjoy any nightlife. We're in our late 20's & early 30's so we're kind of that in between crowd. Although, I'm not crazy about going to places where all the freshman hangout. However, I love Nectar's and that is probably where we'll spend a lot of the afternoon. We usually watch the parade right in front of Nectar's because it's such a good spot. Unfortunately, it looks like it's going to be a little cold this weekend ...I can see what you mean about Ri Ra's being a little too heavy for morning. I think I'd rather go there for dinner...I guess we'll just have to see what we feel like Sunday morning and take our chances. Unless we can settle on some place Sat. and make a reservation.

Cindyloo, thanks for adding to the recommendation for Sneakers. We'll keep that at the top of our list.

Hello again Ethel -- I can't tell you how jealous I am -- Lake Placid and Burlington! Clearly I am not meant to live in the South! =)

Here are a few more random Burlington suggestions in the Church Street area for a cold winter day. Halverson's, at the top of Church Street near the UU church (across from Eddie Bauer or so) has great burgers and fries, pretty cozy atmosphere. One new place which I would definitely recommend is American Flatbread on St. Paul Street where Carbour's used to be.(www.americanflatbread.com/p4.html) I've only been there once since it opened just last year, but it was great, and a neat environment. They also brew their own beer.

If you are a coffee drinker, Muddy Waters right next to Nectar's is fun. A newish place, Radio Bean (http://www.radiobean.com, on N. Winooski Ave, a block up and over from the north end of Church St) is funky and cool. They also have beer (and maybe other drinks) - we spent two post-Mardi Gras parade afternoons there, where it was just a little calmer than the Church Street bars!

I hope you have a wonderful trip & let me know where you end up eating.

I also appreciate reading about all the restaurant suggestions. My teenage son is attending a summer program at U of Vt this summer and we'll be taking him there (and vacationing in Vt and Montreal while he's in the program). Burlington sounds like a lot of fun!

Susan (from Texas)

Goodheart, once again I can't tell you how helpful you've been. I'm definitely interested in Radio Bean now since you've mentioned spending time there post-parade. I'm going to print this thread out and take it with me...I'm so sorry that you can't be there to join us in the festivities this year. I'll be thinking of you

Hey Ethel -- I hope you had an excellent weekend in Burlington and a good brunch - where did you end up? I was so inspired by our posting exchange that I made an impulse decision to go to Burlington next weekend - I basically plan to eat at all my favorite restaurants and drink my favorite coffee for 3 days straight!

Goodheart, we had such an awesome time!! It was cold but that didn't deter us from making the best of it. On Saturday, we started out at Ri Ra for a few drinks and then moved on to Nectar's where we spent the rest of the day and watched the parade from there. They had a band all day so that was great. After the parade, we checked in to our room, and then headed back to Church St. We ended up at Nectar's again. From there, at which point we weren't feeling much pain, we decided just to get some pub type food for dinner so we ended up at Manhattan Pizza. After a day of partying, that was just what we needed. They make a great burger!

On Sunday, we decided to eat at NECI for brunch and boy am I glad we did. It was fabulous. We got there shortly after 11:00 and were able to get a table right away. I had the broccoli and vermont cheddar frittata and my boyfriend had the eggs benedict. Their Uncommon Potatoes are wonderful. All I can say is, it was so good I wanted to go back for dinner...We spent the rest of the day shopping and just relaxing. For dinner, we decided to check out Three Tomatoes Trattoria. Once again, another fabulous meal. I don't know if you've been there, but it's worth a visit if you like Italian. It's right on Church St. next to Urban Outfitters. The atmosphere was very comfortable and quaint. We got a great table and a delicious bottle of Pinot Noir. For dinner, I had penne with shrimp, salmon, & peas in a light cream sauce. My bf had a scallop dish but I can't remember the name of it. I do remember that those were some of the best scallops I've ever tasted. After dinner, we just decided to finish the evening off with a bottle of wine in our room.

I'm so glad that you're going this weekend! I'm actually a little jealous I hope the weather is a little warmer for you. We had such a good time. The only downside is trying to decide on a restaurant. I'm always afraid there's something better that I'm missing, but I was greatly pleased with every choice this weekend.

I hope you have a great time. Let me know where you ended up this weekend.